Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

Strategy + Sandbox: a typical launch earns $3,550 in its first year

That is the median of 144 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 63 of 281 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 36.2 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 58% on the year before: 259 against 164.

Price: $3,550
Price vs a year earlier: −45.0%
Releases, 12 months: 259
Upcoming games: 852
Games on the store: 2,078

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

Strategy + Sandbox on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	3.53%share of upcoming wishlist heat	1.98% to 5.91%	127 ranked of 853 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#51 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.	1.68xhits against expected	1.41x to 1.99x	281 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#410 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches. One game dominates the figure	−16%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−28% to −2%	136 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,903 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal. One game dominates the figure Listed after unflagged rows on this board	−3%review growth against same-age games	−9% to +5%	136 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#2,194 of 2,461pairs on this board

Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.

Launch success

launches 6 to 30 months old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 63
Expected: 36.2

Launches: 281
Hit rate: 22.4%16.9% to 30.9%
Expected rate: 12.9%
Against expected: 1.68x1.41x to 1.99x

Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.

Revenue spread

281 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $80
Median: $3,683
Top tenth: $485,225

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 259
Prior 12 months: 164

Change: +58%
Against Steam: +15%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

StrategyGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
SandboxGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.

More with Strategy

pairs with Strategy

Strategy + Roguelike Deckbuilder$8,599104 launches priced, 217 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Base Building$6,139160 launches priced, 260 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Turn-Based$5,85566 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Historical$4,25980 launches priced, 157 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Party-Based RPG$3,88255 launches priced, 102 releases in 12 months
Strategy + Story Rich$3,64284 launches priced, 149 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Strategy

More with Sandbox

pairs with Sandbox

Sandbox + Multiplayer$32,53338 launches priced, 71 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Resource Management$18,39749 launches priced, 96 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Economy$15,26966 launches priced, 136 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Management$11,910116 launches priced, 204 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + City Builder$11,53977 launches priced, 92 releases in 12 months
Sandbox + Colony Sim$10,01834 launches priced, 53 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Sandbox

Verdicts

in development

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